Questions Existing
by Moderntwilight64
Summary: AU; After the discovery of a gruesome murder, Criminal Investigator Richard Grayson is convinced of the involvement of gang activity. This particular case changes the lives of four people he questions as they all must work together to catch the killer.
1. Bad News

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is my first Teen Titans fanfic as well as my first multi-chapter fanfic :) There will be some romance in here, but it isn't a MAIN genre of the story. Here, the titans are a bit older than they are in the TV series so some are going to seem more mature than there (especially Beast Boy and Cyborg)**

**There are some OC's but no OC pairings develop. **

**IMPORTANT: And in certain sections of the story, I've written times/dates that different events happen, especially when the character point-of-view changes. In order to understand the chronological order of the story, please PAY ATTENTION TO THE TIMES. I've seen people disregard those kinds of things while reading other stories and end up completely bamboozled XD. **

**Comprenez-vous? Alors, commencons!**

* * *

_**Thursday, October 24, 2025 12:00 pm**_

"I just don't understand it." Richard muttered, as he surveyed a newspaper clipping in front of him from last week for the umpteenth time that day. The dark, shadowy figure of the man in the picture was jumping over a couple of boxes and was making a quick getaway from the officers, which had included Richard, pursuing him. And despite the gunshots that had been fired at him that day, he had gotten away.

Richard huffed in annoyance at the memory, his hands clenching the picture so tightly that it almost ripped. At the moment, that very idea seemed appealing. How else was he supposed to vent his frustration at this criminal, named Slade, whose face he hadn't even seen yet, slipping out his hands for the _third time_ this month?

"Richard." A rough voice snapped the young policeman out of his thoughts and he looked up at the Sheriff, Bruce Wayne. Placing the picture back on his desk, Richard stood and nodded. "Good afternoon Sir." he said as stoically as possible, trying to hide the disgruntlement in his voice. Bruce nodded back to him, handed him a newspaper which happened to be a recent edition and pointed to a particular article dated October 30. Richard eyed the headline that said:

_**John Parks, journalist of **__**Jump City Gazette**_ _**BRUTALLY MURDERED**_- _Today's edition is dedicated to mourning his unfortunate demise._

"Terrible." he sighed and then looked back up. "This happened last night?"

Bruce nodded. "He was found in an alley at Downtown Jump City on Levee Boulevard. 10:00 pm. I'm putting you in charge of this case. Are you okay with it?"

"I'm fine with it. Were there any witnesses at the scene?"

"There were a few, but none of them actually saw what happened. They said that they rushed to the scene when they heard some yelling and gunshots. But by the time they got there, the attackers were gone and the victim was already dead. That's when they called the police." He handed Richard a black binder labeled: _**Parks Murder Case**_. "This has all the information we've gotten so far. I think you can take it from here now."

"All right, sir. I'm going to head to the crime scene right now."

"Good." And with that, Bruce left the room. Once he left, Richard combed his jet black hair, straightened his uniform, and headed out to his car with the file.

"Let's hope this case is at least less complicated than what I've been looking at today." He muttered as he put his keys in the ignition.

* * *

"No, I don't think so." Kori shook her head at the design that her artist had presented her with. "The dress's magenta color is perfect and it also is not too revealing, but it has a little too many frills. On Homecoming Night, a woman must feel beautiful but comfortable at the same time when she dances with her escort." She tapped her chin and surveyed the drawing critically looking for spots to make the necessary improvements.

"Miss Anders, if I may make a suggestion . . ." The artist said. "What if instead of these frills at the V-shaped neckline, we replace them with a simple and elegant sash?" To show Kori what she meant, she erased the frills from the dress's neckline and replaced them with a maroon strip with black, elegant swirl designs that outlined the neckline."

Kori nodded in approval. "Perfect!" She smiled as she clapped her hands together. "Another one at the hem will do as well instead of those frills. And do not let the skirt billow out so much. Let it simply fall straight down to a knee-length level."

"Sure Miss Anders." The artist made the corrections and showed the drawing to Kori, who tossed her long, fiery red hair back over her shoulder and viewed the design.

Strapless and dark magenta, the dress's hem stopped down so that the skirt was approximately knee-length. The neckline and hem were both pronounced by the recently added maroon sash with the black, elegant designs. The entire dress was adorned with white dots which were supposed to be diamond-like sequences. A bow of a brighter magenta was wrapped around the waistline and tied into a bow which was loose but tight enough to be recognizable as a bow. This would, of course, be already sewed into the dress.

Kori smiled. "The design is perfect. We can begin making the dress now." The artist nodded respectfully and left the room with the drawing board. Once she left, the young fashion designer sighed contentedly and leaned back into her chair. She was certainly thankful for the soft, pink feathered boa she was wearing around her neck. It served as good comfort therapy for her aching shoulders. She had had lots of paperwork to sign for the designs she was patenting today and her arms had _not_ responded well to this task.

"Miss Anders? Your newspaper . . ." A voice sounded from the door. Kori turned to her secretary Sarah, who handed her the day's edition of the _Jump City Gazette_.

"Thank you Sarah. And also, these are the documents I have signed for the new designs. They are ready to be faxed." Kori handed her the completed paperwork.

"Yes Miss Anders." And with that, Sarah left.

Kori loved reading the newspaper daily and being informed of the happenings of the town. It made her feel somewhat knowledgeable. She opened the paper to the front page and began reading . . . until a particular headline grabbed her attention:

_**John Parks, journalist of **__**Jump City Gazette**_ _**BRUTALLY MURDERED**_- _Today's edition is dedicated to mourning his unfortunate demise._

Her hand flew to her mouth as she continued to read:

_On October 23, a well-known journalist of __**Jump City Gazette**__ was found dead by witnesses in an alley at Downtown Jump City. They say he had been beaten severely and shot. The sound of gunshots was also supposed to have been what attracted attention from the people who discovered the body. _

"_He was a mess, a total mess. I just don't understand who could have possibly done this." A witness said. _

_Apparently, his supposed attackers were nowhere to be seen upon the discovery, though the Jump City Police Department (JCPD) suspect gang activity to be involved in this heinous crime due to the apparent severity of the attack. _

There was more written in the article, but Kori's heart was racing too quickly for her to continue reading. Her hands shook as she dropped her newspaper and fumbled in her purse for her cell phone. "I must call Rachel . . . I must call her."

* * *

Garfield removed the stethoscope earpieces from his ears and positioned the chestpiece back in the front pocket of his white coat. "No worries Tabby," he grinned at his patient. "You're in perfect shape." In response, Tabby mewed adorably and purred as he petted his back. Then, Garfield turned to its owner.

"Mrs. Jones, your cat is perfectly fine health wise. I don't see any signs of a cold or any kind of illness. But I would recommend that he gets more sleep."

"Thanks, Dr. Logan. Thank you so much for your help."

"You're welcome. It's what I'm here for. Call me if there're any other concerns." He said kindly as he handed her Tabby's medical file.

"Sure. Have a great day."

"You too."

And with that, Mrs. Jones picked up her cat and headed out of the examination room. Garfield smiled and followed her out into the hallway, but turned in the opposite direction to the Doctors' Lounge.

The lounge was a large, square-shaped room with a circular couch in the center that surrounded a small coffee table. A coffee maker and a vending machine stood in a corner of the room while the grayish walls were decorated with several plaques, awards granted to previous and current doctors in the clinic. Fake plants in the room gave it a touch of nature, which was definitely something Garfield found very appealing due to his fondness of animals, which had been the main reason why he had chosen to be a veterinarian.

"Dr. Logan," a voice sounded behind him. Garfield turned around and faced his Senior Resident.

"Hi Dr. Reed. How's it going?"

Dr. Reed smiled and said, "Pretty well. I just wanted to talk to you."

Garfield scratched his neck and fiddled with the collar of his coat. "Um, if this is about the money I borrowed from you the other day, I was gonna pay you back tomorrow . . . just in case you were wondering."

Dr. Reed laughed. "Thank you, but this isn't about that. This is about your raise."

The young veterinarian's eyes widened. "A . . . a raise?"

The Senior Resident nodded. "I've been watching you these days Garfield and I have to say that I'm very impressed. You personality always seems to click with every single patient you have, and you certainly have a way with animals. After seeing what a good job you have done with your patients, I think you definitely deserve this."

Garfield's surprised expression never left his face. "Wow, thanks." He said. He controlled his urge to hug the Dr. Reed and shook his hand instead. "Thank you so much Dr. Reed, I really really appreciate it."

"You're most certainly welcome. Now I have a patient to attend to, so I'll be off now. Have a good day."

"You too, Dr. Reed."

Once Dr. Reed left the room, Garfield breathed in and out deeply as he flopped down onto the couch. He had been about to drink some coffee when he came in, but now he didn't need to anymore. His racing mind was enough to provide him with the equivalence of a caffeine rush.

_Yes! I can finally get some more money home now!_ He was silently cheering. Garfield's shoulders suddenly as though a barbell of one thousand pounds had been lifted from his shoulders. At this rate, he would later on have enough money to repay his current debts.

His happy revelations were interrupted when his phone abruptly rang. To his delight, it was Victor. He chuckled softly, relishing the fact that the first person to hear this wonderful news from him would be his best friend.

"Yo Vic, what's up?"

"Nothin' much man, but listen-"

"Dude! I got some awesome news!" Garfield was too caught up in his excitement to notice the urgency in Victor's voice. "I got a raise!"

For a moment, his voice changed slightly. "Really? That's great man!"

"Yeah, I know. So . . . you sounded like you wanted to tell me something. What's up?"

"Well . . . you might not like it much."

Garfield frowned. "What happened?"

"Well . . . you know your friend John Parks, right?"

"Oh yeah. About that, how'd your interview with him go? You told him I said hi, right?"

Victor paused, before answering. "The interview never happened." He seemed taken aback at what Garfield had just said.

"What? Why?"

"Wait, you don't know what happened? Didn't you read the news?"

Garfield gripped the edge of the sofa. "No, I just got done dealing with a patient. What happened?"

"I just got a call from the _**Jump City Gazette**_. Parks is dead. He's been murdered. The _**Jump City Gazette**_ itself has the story."

Garfield almost dropped his cell phone and his body stiffened. For almost five seconds, he couldn't say anything. "No . . . way. Dude . . ." he eventually murmured.

* * *

"This is hopeless!" Rachel huffed. She crumpled up her sheet of paper in her hands and hurled it into the trashcan, which had several other papers that had met with a similar fate. Once her brief spark of frustration cooled down, she scowled at the mess of crumpled papers around her before sighing. She was sitting back in her swivel chair, running a pale hand through her glossy black hair. "Great," she muttered. "Now I have to clean this up."

The crumpled papers had been Rachel's fourteen attempts to write a perfect chapter to the book she was writing. At this point, she had only finished three chapters and still had about twenty more to write. Normally, she was a faster writer than this, but recent problems with her job with the _**Jump City Gazette **_had increased her workload and taken a toll on her to the point that it had sparked a bit of Writer's Block. This, of course, was in no way making things any better for Rachel since being a newspaper editor . . . well . . . former editor now, also involved writing.

Just as she stood up and began to clean up the mess, the phone at her desk rang. "Hello?"

"Rachel? Oh thank goodness you picked up this phone because I called your cell phone so many times and you never answered and I got worried. You are all right?" the caller stopped to take several deep breaths.

Rachel sighed as she tried to calm down her friend's hysteria, almost amused at the fact that this was not the first time she had gone into one of these frantic are-you-okay rants. "Kori, calm down. I'm fine."

"But why did you not answer the phone?"

"The battery died this morning so I'm charging it while it's powered off."

"Oh, I see." The tension in Kori's voice still hadn't faltered. "But you usually charge it in the night before you go to sleep so that you can use it at work. You are not at work now?"

Rachel bit her lip. "Um Kori, about work . . . I actually-" She didn't get a chance to finish her sentence as she was cut off by a sudden outburst.

"Rachel! Have you not heard what has happened? Why have you not said anything about it?"

She raised an eyebrow at Kori's random change of topic. "What are you talking about?"

"I am talking about John Parks, Rachel! He is dead!"

Rachel gasped and could feelher face draining of color as she abruptly plopped back into her chair, completely motionless. After what seemed like an eternity, her surroundings stopped spinning and she finally spoke. "W-what happened?"

"He was found shot and severely beaten in Downtown Jump City. The _**Jump City Gazette**_ has published the entire story. Because you work for the newspaper, I thought you would know. . ." Kori trailed off, the panic in her voice still imminent. "Oh Rachel, I do not know why but I had a feeling something bad was going to happen last night and I wanted to talk to you about it but I ignored it! What are we to do? How could this have happened?"

"Kori! Just calm down. Like you, I . . . have no idea how this happened. But no matter how much this is affecting us, we cannot afford to panic. Otherwise, the police could suspect us for something we didn't do." Rachel swallowed hard at the mere prospect before taking a deep breath.

"But Rachel, what can we do? The police will find out that we were acquainted with him quite well. Will they not suspect us then?"

"I don't know. All I can say is that we have to stay calm. If they have questions, we're obviously going to tell them the truth. The fact that we're innocent still remains. We'll be okay."

"I am hoping for the same thing." Kori replied sadly.


	2. Investigations

_**Thursday, October 24, 2025 12:30 pm**_

"Good afternoon sir. You're here for John Parks, right?"

Richard nodded. "I'm here to investigate the crime scene. Where's the body?"

"This way. I haven't seen it yet, but Alex's looking at him now." Roy began to lead him down the street, toward a rather trashy looking alley. The moment Richard entered the alley, a fetid odor of rotten garbage and blood clouded his nose and he almost coughed as he reached the spot where the victim lay.

He grimaced at the sight of John Parks, whose slender body was completely battered with black bruises, while his brown hair was in disastrous disarray. Strands of it were curling out in random places, as though someone had been pulling at them in a furious rage. His black suit was ripped in many places. But what stood out the most was the circle of red on his chest.

Roy was the first to respond. "Good god what'd they do, play baseball with this guy?"

Richard finally had had enough of this sight and led Roy and Alex away from the alley. They were all silent for a moment until Alex broke the silence. "We're already getting ready to have the body taken to Dr. Beecher so that she can examine it."

"And we're considering robbery as a motive so far." Roy added.

Richard nodded. "Did you keep any of his belongings, if he had any?"

"Yeah, we have his wallet. That's the only thing we could find on him." Alex said, as he handed Richard a Ziploc bag with a medium sized wallet.

Richard took the bag and removed the wallet from it. "Perfect," he murmured as he opened it. "This should be of a lot of . . . help?" his eyes narrowed in suspicion as he stared at the series of dollar bills that were still in the wallet. He made this apparent to Roy and Alex who looked equally surprised, before closing the wallet. "There's still money in his wallet." Richard concluded. "That means that he wasn't robbed. There's more to the motive than what it seems to be." He glanced at the wallet again before looking back at Roy and Alex. "Both of you keep investigating the scene. I'm gonna go find out some more information about Parks."

* * *

Richard parked his car in the flat driveway of a white, Cape Cod style house. It didn't look like it was higher than about a story and a half and there were few windows with broad frames.

As he climbed out of the car, he adjusted his yellow coat under which he wore a red polo shirt and green pants. As a known criminal investigator, he felt it would be best to use discretion during investigations outside of the crime scenes. This was also why he had taken his regular car instead of a police car. Richard walked up to the front door and knocked three times. The door opened by a crack, and a pair of anxious green eyes peered through the gap.

The criminal investigator reached into his pocket and pulled out his ID card. "JCPD Criminal Investigator Richard Grayson, Ma'am." He said, trying to sound as reassuring as possible. "I'm in charge of John Parks' case. This is his residence, right?"

The door opened completely now, to reveal a short woman with brown hair wearing a plain white cotton shirt and brown pants. Her tanned face had a few streaks of tears and a large shawl was wrapped around her, covering her completely. "Yes it was. I was his wife. Come in." Richard followed her into the main hall. "Would you like some coffee?" she asked.

"No, thank you." He paused before continuing. "I came here to ask you some questions about your husband. By the way, I'm very sorry for your loss, Mrs. Parks."

Mrs. Parks shrugged, her shoulders still slightly slumped. "Thank you, I've been okay. The news just came as a bit of a shock for me."

Richard nodded understandingly and started with the questioning. "I was looking through your husband's wallet and there was still a lot of money in it. So we suspect that this was more than just a downtown robbery. Was he at home with you yesterday?"

Mrs. Parks nodded. "Last night, I came home a little late from work at around 9:00 pm. He was already home and he seemed a bit angry and tensed up." At that, Richard's eyes narrowed in suspicion. But he let her continue. "I tried asking him what was wrong and he wouldn't tell me. The only thing he had told me was that he had just fired an employee."

"Who was it that he fired?"

"He didn't tell me. He kept saying he had to go get some fresh air and he left the house. I let him go, thinking he would come back and tell me later."

Richard started pacing around the room, in deep thought. Eventually he turned to Mrs. Parks. "Do you have anything that'll help me figure out what exactly your husband was doing that time?"

Mrs. Parks nodded as she headed for the stairs. "Yes, I'll be right back."

While she was there, Richard took this opportunity to look deeper into Parks' wallet. In the pockets, two small photos caught his attention. He peered at the first one, which was of a woman whose features exactly matched those of Mrs. Parks. When he looked at the back of the picture, the name _Kristen_ was written on it with a little heart drawn next to it.

But the other picture was of a red-haired woman whose skin was of a bright, peachy complexion. She had sparkling green eyes and a rather giddy smile. This woman was wearing a pink blouse, which seemed to be a business suit. When Richard looked at the back of the picture, the name _Kori_ was written on it . . . with a heart drawn next to it as well!

Did Mrs. Parks know about this?

"Mr. Grayson," he heard her voice just as he had thought about her. He looked up and quickly removed the surprised expression that had originally been on his face as Mrs. Parks handed him a small black book. "This is his private planner that he kept at home. He never really showed this to anyone because he said it had some of our crucial documents hidden in it, but I removed them so I could let you use this. Maybe it'll help."

"Thank you, but did he show this to you at least? I'm just curious . . ."

"No, not this one. I only saw one of his planners which he said was the same as this one."

Richard raised an eyebrow. "He had two planners?"

"He was always paranoid about having a 'replacement' in case he ever lost one of them." She paused before suddenly handing Richard a cell phone. "Maybe this will help too. When he left the house last night, he didn't take his cell phone with him."

Richard opened the cell phone and looked through his received calls, searching for calls received on the day of his murder. He moved down the list, seeing the names _Rachel_ and _Kori_ appear several times. He tapped his chin thoughtfully. Kori . . . seemed to be part of his agenda quite a lot. He looked up at Mrs. Parks. "He has some received calls from a _Kori_ and _Rachel_. How did they know him?"

"Rachel?" Mrs. Parks paused. "Oh! You mean Rachel Roth! She works for him. She used to come here a lot to collect John's information since she has to edit and publish the articles."

"I see, and who's Kori?"

"Kori Anders. She's a new fashion designer in Jump City and she's been here for a couple of months now. I know so, since John interviewed her once."

Richard frowned. "Is that it?"

"Yes, that's the only time they met. Why do you ask?"

He bit his lip, wondering how he would tell Mrs. Parks without upsetting her in any way. But then again, he couldn't possibly be sure. Perhaps he should get a second opinion about this before jumping to conclusions. Richard quickly said before scrolling down the received calls list once more, "No, I was just curious if you knew more. And also, who's Mr. Stone?" he gestured to one of the names on the list.

"Oh, that's Victor Stone, a former scientist. John was supposed to interview him today. But after John was killed, the interview got canceled."

"Okay . . . Is it all right if I keep this?" he gestured to the cell phone. "I'm going to find the necessary people to question so I can get some more information."

"Of course. And before I forget, I have one more thing that may help you." She held out a framed photo of a young man with emerald green eyes and short blond hair."This is Garfield Logan, John's old friend from high school. I don't know if John went to see him after he left last night, but I have a feeling Garfield might know because they've always kept in touch with each other."

Richard smiled. "Thank you, these will definitely help."

On his drive back home, the young officer was in deep thought. "So Rachel was his employee, Garfield was his friend, and Kori was . . ." Richard trailed off as he was mumbling to himself. Maybe Kori was also a very good friend of Parks, but why would his wife not know about it?

He was sure that the answer was obvious, but he still had a feeling that talking to Kori Anders first might help. Richard had dealt with cases involving extramarital affairs before. But he had never fallen in love before so he didn't know about them on a more . . . personal level.

He sighed, knowing that because of his hard drive to concentrate on his job, he had never really taken the time to pause and reflect on his personal view of . . . well . . . almost anything. In the past, the death of his parents had truly and rather forcefully opened his eyes to the fact that injustices were out to get people, no matter how young they were. As a result, he had made that resolve, which never changed, to become part of the police force. And Bruce Wayne being his legal guardian at the time had really been a good advantage to Richard.

His mental reminiscing abruptly ended when he finally parked in front of his apartment and his mind returned to thoughts of this case, a new plan forming. Now that he knew who he could talk to, it was time to get to know these people.

* * *

_**Friday, October 26 2025 9:30 pm**_

"Hey, Rich!" Roy walked into the room. "Are you busy right now?"

"Not really, just checking on clues from a chase with Slade. I'm trying to see if I missed anything in that investigation. "

Roy resisted the urge to sigh. _Good god, this guy is the definition of paranoid. That case he's looking at is from LAST YEAR._ Instead of relating this to Richard, he decided to focus on the task at hand, "Anyway, I was on the phone with a banker earlier today; trying to find out about Garfield Logan's financial status. Doing questionable things against the law usually tends to come down to money."

Richard smirked in approval. "Good thinking. So what'd you find out?"

"Well, I already know from the Senior Resident at the veterinarian clinic that Dr. Logan's pretty good at what he does. In fact, he recently got a raise for his good work."

"So that means he doesn't have job problems." Richard contemplated.

"Right. But when I talked to the bank, it seems that he has a pretty clean credit card history. So things are pretty smooth there other than the fact that he was on a student loan when he was in college. However outside of that, he suddenly borrowed large sums of money from them in that same year which currently has him in debt by $200,000."

Richard raised an eyebrow. "Whoa, where'd that come from? All of a sudden in debt? That's weird."

Roy nodded. "Yeah, I'll say. By the way, I looked at John Parks' private schedule that you had and I agree with what you told me the other day; it is odd that Kori Anders met him three times a week and Mrs. Parks didn't know about it . . . you're sure Mrs. Parks didn't show any signs of knowing anything past Ms. Anders' interview with Mr. Parks?"

"Positive. So I definitely want to question her and Dr. Logan."

"What about his editor? Rachel Roth, I think her name is."

"I think I'll question her too. She worked for him, so I'm pretty sure she's spent a lot of time around him too. And as for Victor Stone, he used to be a scientist but now he works at an insurance company. He was going to be interviewed by John Parks, but it never happened since Parks was killed."

"Yeah."

Richard thought for a moment. "Okay, now that we know something about each of these fellows, what do you say we get them over here tomorrow? That way, we can make sure they weren't . . . involved in any way."

"Which ones?"

"All of them. Kori Anders, Garfield Logan, Victor Stone and Rachel Roth."

* * *

**Sorry if this was a lame chapter. It was actually slightly boring to write since it only focused on Richard's case hence the chapter title 'Investigations' lol, although it's still important to the plot. *Awkward silence* Uhhh yeah so anyways, can't wait for your reviews! **

**~MDT**


	3. Unknown Caller

_**Saturday, October 27, 2025 5:00 pm**_

"It has been done. The rest is up to you now." The deep male voice rasped in such a way that the person listening to it felt it stinging at her ears and she shuddered.

She closed her eyes and tried to quell the waves of panic in her heart, panic at the fact that she knew this voice too well; _much_ too well. _Make it stop . . . make it stop!_ She gripped her phone tightly and spoke to the caller through her clenched teeth. "I already told you, you have the wrong number."

The caller laughed unpleasantly. "Dear child," he drawled on. "You don't know what you're talking about. You never did, so stop using this excuse every time."

Clutching at the cushions of her couch, the call recipient tried to keep the defiance in her voice as she retorted, "You've got to be on crack or something. I have no idea who you are or what you're talking about! Stop calling this number!"

"I know that you know what I'm talking about, Rachel."

"STOP IT!" she commanded desperately, slamming a fist against a cushion. "I don't know you and you don't know me! Stop calling-"

The caller continued talking with a malicious satisfaction in his voice. "Don't get so defensive, Rachel. You know what happened that night. I'm sure of it. It's been four days, hasn't it? Just so you know though, I just might go for another round again. Only this time, it could be _you_. You know how to prevent _that_ from happening, right?"

Rachel's already balled fists clenched even more tightly until her knuckles were almost white.

"In four words, keep your mouth shut."

"Shut up! You're insane, just shut up and leave me the hell alone!"

"Or what? You'll call the police? Rachel you know what'll happen if you tell -" he was cut off as Rachel hung up the phone.

With the absence of another cryptic retort, she sat back in her couch and let out a relieved sigh, taking deep, slow breaths. Deep down inside, she knew that this wasn't all over; but at the moment, she couldn't deal with this. She couldn't help tensing at the fact that this . . . creep . . . had already made calls like this three times this month. And now, this was the fourth time he had called and spoken in that menacing snarl that would instill within Rachel a sense of panic at a whole new level.

_I just might go for another round again._ His voice still seemed to ring in her mind.

_This time, it could be __**you**__._

_I know that you know what happened that night._

_It's been four days, hasn't it?_

Rachel covered her ears, shut her eyes and hunched forward for a few moments before eventually standing up, shaking violently. She wordlessly snatched her purse and headed towards her door.

"Kori had better be home right now." She muttered under her breath. "I can't be alone right now . . . I can't."

* * *

Kori felt her tense shoulders sag slightly as she sipped her tea; the sugary sweetness of the drink activating her weary mind, while calming it down as well. She sighed and leaned her head back into the velvety cushion of her couch. Today had been a rather long and tiring day at work and she hadn't been able to take her mind off of the news of John's murder since a burning thought had been haunting her ever since she had found out about this yesterday.

_Who did it? How did this happen?_

Kori remembered the great times she had had with him. But whenever she called him, he had rarely answered the phone and would tell her later that he was too caught up with work. She'd still been suspicious but let it go anyway, which was how she'd remained oblivious to a rather crucial detail in his life. If she'd known about that, things would be different by now. Very different.

But as of now, she just wanted this whole fiasco to be forgotten; for her life to return to how normal it had been before. But the frightening prospect of anyone finding out this was making that completely impossible. Rachel was the only one who knew, because Kori had told her about this before. But Rachel would never tell anyone.

_Knock! Knock! Knock! Knock! _

Kori looked up to her right towards her front door, startled out of her thoughts. She stood up, headed over there, opened the door and gasped. Rachel, who was paler than usual, stood there clutching her purse tightly with a shaking hand and gripping the collar her navy blue trench coat with the other hand; her glossy, black hair was slightly disheveled.

Kori grabbed Rachel's shoulders. "Rachel, what has happened? You are all right?"

"I'm fine; I just need to be here for a while." She answered hoarsely. "Did I come at a bad time?"

"No you didn't. Sit down; I will fetch you some tea." Kori set her friend down on the couch and raced into the kitchen, obtained a mug, poured some extra tea from the kettle and hurried over to Rachel who took the mug, murmuring a silent thank-you.

Rachel took a sip of the tea before breathing deeply for a few moments. Finally, her body relaxed slightly and she seemed a little calmer now. But the uneasiness never left her face as she looked up to Kori and said, "That same guy called me today."

"What?"

"Remember that threatening call I received last week? That same person called again."

"Oh my goodness! Rachel you must call the police now!"

Rachel shook her head. "No Kori, I can't . . . I need to make sure it's just some stupid prank call before jumping to conclusions." She involuntarily gripped her mug tightly upon acknowledging how dumb that sounded. Maybe she should've been more prepared for this before coming. After all, she could not let Kori find out that she actually _knew_ this person who was calling her. . .

"Rachel, this is not the only time you have received calls like this."

"I know! Kori don't you remember Tara? _She_ is the reason why this is all happening. If she hadn't given away my phone number to practically everyone, none of this would've happened."

Kori flinched at the mention of Tara. Rachel never usually liked to talk about her; normally, she would either bluntly say she didn't want to discuss her or attempt to change the subject. It was _never_ easy to get Rachel to talk about issues like this. "Rachel, this happened in _college_ and it seems to have returned to haunt you now. There must be more to it. Do you not find any of this suspicious? Please, I believe this is a good time to involve the -"

"No," Rachel said flatly, which was usually how she sounded when she was trying to change the subject. "That's all there is to it. Anyway, I just came down here after the call today because . . . I felt like I . . . needed some company." She sighed deeply before continuing. "So did you finally finish your new designs for Homecoming season?"

Kori just stared on in concern; it was obvious that Rachel was hiding something and she wanted to pursue the matter. But at the moment, it didn't seem like Rachel was going to cooperate. Perhaps she really was stressed out and wanted to relieve herself in the company of a friend so now was probably not the best time to worry her any further; but Kori resolved that she would definitely find out what was going on later.

* * *

_**Saturday, October 27, 2025 5:40 pm**_

"Freeze!" Richard shouted while running after the dark figure of a man who was managing to agilely dodge the bullets aimed at him. He suddenly jumped on the roof of a car nearby and leapt to another one at the speed of a cheetah; he was laughing quietly as the young criminal investigator attempted to keep up with him.

"Sorry, officer." His cocky tone made Richard's blood boil. "It looks like I'm still moving!"

"Stop right there Slade or I'll shoot!"

Slade continued running, barely panting as he headed toward a car in a nearby parking lot. So finally, Richard pressed his finger against the trigger of the gun and attempted another shot.

_Bang!_ He winced as the bullet whizzed out of its motherboard and clanged against Slade's mask.

There was a loud _crack!_ And half of the criminal's mask bounced off his shoulders and hit the ground with little force. He slowed down for about a millisecond, as though he was wondering whether he should retrieve the broken piece and continue on his way; but when Richard shot at him again and almost caught up with him, Slade held a hand against the half of the mask that was still on his face and hurried over to a red car in the parking lot

_Wong! Wong! Wong!_ Its alarms blared as he shattered the windows, dived through them like a seasonal gymnast and settled down into the driver's seat at light speed.

Richard's eyes widened and he attempted another few gunshots. He grabbed his black communicator and shouted into it while running, "Roy! Alex! I want a tight barricade on East Street and Buck Road; Slade's making off with a car from the parking lot and we have to stop him!"

"Yes, sir!" Two voices answered from the static device.

The young criminal investigator looked down and noticed the half of Slade's mask lying on the ground like littered trash. He couldn't help sighing in disappointment that the gunshot had only nicked off half of the mask. "I was so close . . ." He mumbled as he picked up the mask. Then, something caught his eye.

A brown hair.

* * *

_**Saturday, October 27, 2025 8:00 pm**_

Karen Beecher squinted at the brightness of her computer screen as she tried to analyze the image coming into place. Hopefully, she could finish this off quickly; working on different cases had kept her busy all day and was on the verge of frustrating her. She looked at her watch and noticed that it was 8 pm. Sighing, she dialed a number on her cell phone.

A teasing voice answered the call. "Handsome hunk, Victor Stone, how can I help you?"

Karen smirked, shaking her head. Of all the times to tease her, he just had to pick _now_. "Not now, Sparky; I'm not in the mood." She put up her best irritated tone.

"Can't help it, Bee. You sound cute when you're mad."

She rolled her eyes, laughing. "Look, Mr. Grayson just came here out of the blue with a brown hair for me to analyze; another one of his Slade investigations."

"A brown hair? What happened this time?"

"He was chasing him today and managed to nick half of Slade's mask. A brown hair happened to be on the mask then."

Victor whistled. "Wow, the dude sure got lucky. Let's hope the DNA test gets him the jackpot; I've been hearing about this case for months. He's real paranoid bout' catching this one, huh?"

"He's like this for every case he does." Karen laughed. "So anyway, it's 8 pm now. I'll be really late today so you don't have to pick me up."

"You sure? I'm at Gar's place right now; just about twenty minutes away."

"Yeah, I'm sure- whoa!"

"What happened?" Victor asked urgently.

"I think I just found something, hold on!" Karen leaned forward and eyed the twisting strands of DNA on the monitor. The tension in Victor's voice rose. "Karen what's going on?"

* * *

_**Saturday, October 27, 2025 7:54 pm**_

"Oh, I'm so kicking your butt now!" Garfield exclaimed excitedly. At the moment, he seemed to have the upper hand in this race. His eyes narrowed in concentration as his green car made a sharp turn into a dark tunnel. Just as it sped out toward the finish line, a blue car came into view and slammed into it, sending it crashing through the highway's guardrails and toppling over it. Then, the blue car finished its final lap over the finish line. Garfield let out a cry of disappointment.

"Aww yeah, baby who's kickin' butt now?" Victor put his Gamestation controller down, stood up and began to do a victory dance while Garfield scowled at him.

"Dude, I was so beating you! You've gotta have cheated!"

"No way, man! You know I won fair and square!" Victor beamed at the fact that he'd set a new high score.

"I demand a rematch!"

"You sure you can handle it, man? I'm not workin' today so I got all the time I need." Victor challenged.

"I'm on call today so I got some time too. I can so handle it, and I'll kick your butt so hard you'll land on the other side of the country!"

"I'll kick your butt even harder so you'll land in the Pacific Ocean on the coast of Japan and you'll have to swim your way back here!"

"I'll kick your butt even harder that you'll land in the Jurassic Era and pterodactyls will have to fly you back here!"

The two couldn't help the bursts of laughter they finally let out. Victor grabbed the coffee table nearby to keep his balance while Garfield leaned on the white wall of the room. Whenever Victor and Garfield would taunt each other, they could barely get past five taunts without breaking down into fits of laughter. This time, they hadn't even gotten past three. That was a new record.

Both were interrupted by a loud ringing noise from Victor's pocket. He reached in, pulled out his cell phone and smirked. It was Karen. "Handsome hunk, Victor Stone, how can I help you?" He said over the phone.

"Not now, Sparky; I'm not in the mood." A slightly perturbed voice answered him.

Victor smiled. Even when she was mad, she addressed him by her pet name for him. Karen had started calling him that when they had started dating; he'd been annoyed by it at first, but had eventually started liking it. And he still did. "Can't help it, Bee. You sound cute when you're mad."

Garfield quietly snickered at that. "Way to be original, dude."

Karen laughed. "Look, Mr. Grayson just came here out of the blue with a brown hair for me to analyze; another one of his Slade investigations."

Victor raised an eyebrow. Karen was a Forensic Scientist for the police and was always busy with having to analyze things found at crime scenes. And according to her, Richard Grayson was her most frequent visitor for the case of Slade, the most notorious mobster in Jump City. And the most difficult to catch. "A brown hair? What happened this time?"

"He was chasing him today and managed to nick half of Slade's mask. A brown hair happened to be on the mask then."

Victor whistled. "Wow, the dude sure got lucky. Let's hope the DNA test gets him the jackpot; I've been hearing about this case for months. He's real paranoid bout' catching this one, huh?"

"He's like this for every case he does." Karen laughed. "So anyway, it's 8 pm now. I'll be really late today so you don't have to pick me up."

Victor checked his watch. It was. "You sure? I'm at Gar's place right now; just about twenty minutes away."

"Yeah, I'm sure- whoa!"

Victor tensed at the sudden shock in his girlfriend's tone "What happened?" He asked urgently.

"I think I just found something, hold on!" For a moment, there was silence.

Victor wasn't sure if he was going to like where this was going. Garfield, who was still standing next to him, narrowed his eyes in concern. "Karen what's going on?" he asked again.


	4. Suspect?

**All right, here's Chapter 4! It is a little short but there'll be much more packed into the next few chapters for sure.**

* * *

_**Saturday, October 27, 2025 6:19 pm **_

Richard was grinning triumphantly as he sat down at his desk, letting out a contented sigh.

Roy, who was sitting nearby raised an eyebrow at him. After today's chase, Slade had gotten away again and Rich was in a good mood? "Good news?" he asked.

"Roy you won't believe this!" Richard sat in front of his colleague. "I tried to catch Slade today when he was robbing a grocery store, and I nicked off half his mask when I shot at him!"

Roy stood up abruptly, almost knocking his chair over. So this was why Richard was acting all joyful! "Whoa, really? Did you see his face?"

"No, he got it covered in time and managed to get away by hijacking a parked car."

"So?"

"So, after I sent you and Alex after him, I noticed a brown hair stuck on the piece from Slade's mask! Karen has it now and she's looking through it." Richard was beaming. "I have a feeling that after we get a DNA scan, we're gonna get closer to a breakthrough with this guy."

Roy shook his head, laughing. "That's great man; looks like this case is finally going somewhere."

Richard returned to looking serious again. "Speaking of which, for Parks' case, we've gotta start questioning those people. The longer we wait the better chance the perpetrator has of getting away."

"All right, so we're doing that today?"

"Yeah, let's go." _Kori Anders, Garfield Logan, Rachel Roth, Victor Stone . . . get ready._ Richard thought to himself.

* * *

_**Saturday, October 27, 2025 8:10 pm**_

After a few moments, Victor finally hung up the phone. "What happened, Vic?" Garfield finally asked.

Victor looked down at his friend. "Don't know. New information on the case Karen just found is gonna give Officer Grayson a good lead on Parks' case; that's all she really can say."

Garfield nodded, understanding. "Good," he said. "I was hoping they'd catch the perpetrator soon."

"Yeah, same here." He narrowed his eyes at Garfield. "So how're you handling this? Everything okay?"

The young veterinarian paused for a moment and then nodded. "Yeah, it's just that . . ." he sighed. "I still can't believe he's gone, man. I just don't know who did this to him."

Victor put a hand on his shoulder as Garfield continued speaking. It was obvious that he would be taking this pretty hard, especially since Parks was his high school friend. They weren't close friends like Victor was with Garfield; but, according to him, they still kept in touch.

"Parks was a laid back kind of dude; fun to be around, but a little odd here and there. He had a funny habit of flirting with other girls then; not that I think it's actually funny. The funny part was that he'd always get turned down." Garfield laughed a little upon mentioning that.

But then, his eyebrows furrowed. "But in the last few months, I noticed a little change in him. He was becoming a little less relaxed and was always stressed out. He said it was his job, but I wasn't so sure. Sometimes, I suspected that he and his wife, Kristen, were having . . . relationship problems."

Victor was surprised. "Problems?"

"Yeah. I've met Kristen before and I never really saw any kind of major issue with her. In fact, she always loved him a lot so I just thought it was my imagination. John never really handled stress well anyway."

"You sure something wasn't happening that y'all don't know about?"

"Well, I used to think he was hiding something also. For the last two months. But I let that thought go, like I said before, since I thought it was just my imagination. I tried to find out a few times but he never told me anything."

"Hey, at least he didn't pull a Tara on you." Victor joked without thinking.

Garfield's shoulders suddenly tensed and his face hardened. Victor realized that even though he'd been trying to lighten the mood for his friend slightly, it was having the opposite effect.

"Whoa, sorry man I didn't mean-"

Garfield waved a hand casually, brushing the comment off. "It's fine, don't sweat it."

"You sure?" Victor arched his eyebrows in concern. "Aw man, I really didn't mean to offend you."

"I said it's fine, dude." His best friend retorted impatiently. "I just don't like to talk about her, that's all."

"I know it's been almost a year since she . . . well . . . I mean, don't you think you should find someone new?"

Garfield smiled lightly. "I guess I'll think about it. I mean, this happened a year ago and it was a pretty crazy time for me then. I think it's best to just move on."

At that, Victor suddenly, he remembered something from last year when Garfield had called his cell phone one night.

* * *

_**Sunday, February 14, 2024 11:56 pm**_

_RING RING RING! _

_Victor almost fell out of his bed at the sound of his cell phone ringing. "Aw, man." He muttered as he fumbled for it on the small table next to his bed. As soon as he found it, he looked at the bright screen and squinted, partly from its blinding brightness and out of surprise at the caller's name._

_It was Garfield. Why was he calling this late at night? Was this about his fight with Tara he'd had today? Ugh, poor guy; it was always a pain to deal with those kinds of messes. Especially on Valentine's Day. "Hello?"He mumbled._

"_Hey dude?" his best friend's voice sounded weak and strained._

"_Gar? What up man? It's almost midnight." _

"_Sorry Vic, I . . . just-" he was cut off as he cried out painfully. _

_This alerted Victor. "What's going on? Gar?" he demanded, immediately sitting up in bed. _

"_I- I need- just get over here, dude! I can't talk right now!" Garfield's voice was filled with pain. _

"_All right, where are you?"Victor gripped his cell phone tightly as he raced out of his bedroom, downstairs to the front door and snagged his broad, black jacket. _

"_Downtown Jump City_ _. . ." the young man breathed restlessly. "Get on Tan Street, go straight, turn right on Far Drive and look for an abandoned parking lot to your right; that's where I'll be."_

_Victor's eyes widened. "Abandoned parking lot? Yo, what's goin' on, man, are you okay?"_

"_I'll tell you later, just hurry the hell up!"_

_Victor was sure his heart rate was off the charts because of how heavily he was breathing as he parallel-parked on Far Drive. The parking lot was right next to him. _

"_Gar?" Victor called for his friend as he clambered out of his car and rushed into the darkness of the parking lot. It smelled like garbage and sweat. "Garfield?"_

"_Dude, I'm . . . over here . . ." a weak voice to his right answered. _

_Victor used the screen of his cell phone to light his path, eventually leading him to Garfield. _

_He gasped. _

_Garfield was lying on his back, his clothes slightly ruffled and covered in mud. There were several purplish bruises on his arms and face, along with an enormous black eye. His nose was bleeding and his light blonde hair was heavily specked with dirt and grime. His left arm was bent at an odd angle and he was shutting his eyes tightly, moaning softly._

_Victor rushed over to him. "Shit, shit shit. What happened to you, man?" he put a hand on Garfield's shoulder lightly and supported his back with his other hand in an attempt to help him sit up. In response, Garfield cried out and groaned loudly._

_Victor held his breath as he waited for his friend to calm down. _

"_My arm," Garfield finally gasped. "I think- I think it's broken. Dude . . . I need to get to the hospital."_

"_OK." He answered, trying to stay calm. How in the world this happened, he would find out later._

_

* * *

_

"Gar, remember that night when you and Tara had your first fight?" Victor asked.

Garfield stared at him, startled. "Um, yeah. What about it?"

"Well, about what happened later that night before you called me . . .?"

"Why does it matter now? I already told you I was mugged by a couple of thugs." His friend turned away from him. As outgoing as he was, he still never liked to talk about this.

Victor cocked his head to the side. "I know you said that. But are you sure that's actually what happened?"

Garfield shrugged. "Yeah, why?"

"Cause' . . . I don't know man, you changed a little after that. You always got all serious if it was even mentioned, you'd get fidgety and nervous; it's like you were hiding something."

He turned around sharply. "Dude, I'm serious. It's nothing like that. It was just a one-time robbery, all right? If it was more than that, I would tell you." His emerald eyes looked troubled.

Victor stared back at him, still not convinced. Garfield was hiding something right now; and he _never_ usually hid anything from anyone. He'd even been considered a fast talker by his teachers in high school.

_KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!_ Both of them were interrupted from their thoughts by the loud knocking on the front door. Garfield opened it.

A young man with spiky, jet black hair stood there, wearing a black trench coat and sunglasses. "Dr. Garfield Logan?" He asked with no expression on his face.

"Yeah," Garfield answered, puzzled. "Who are you?"

Glancing at him and Victor, the man held out a gold badge and an ID card. "JCPD Criminal Investigator, Richard Grayson. You and Mr. Stone are needed at the police station for questioning."

Garfield's mouth dropped open and from behind, Victor's eyes widened. He looked back at Officer Grayson. "What?"

"It's regarding the case of the murder of John Parks."

Garfield swallowed, trying to block out any theories in his mind as to what was going on and walked over to the red car that was parked at his driveway. "Okay, I'll come."

"All right." Victor followed along, his mouth set in a grim line as he realized what this was about.

* * *

"JCPD Criminal Investigator, Roy Harper. You and Miss Roth are needed at the police station for questioning." The young man held out his badge and ID card to a shocked Kori.

"But- but what have we done?" Kori felt ridiculous for asking that, but at the moment, she couldn't help herself.

"Miss Anders, you're not being arrested; you're only going to be questioned regarding the murder of John Parks."

Kori was about to speak again, but Rachel placed a firm hand on her shoulder and silently signaled her to cooperate. "All right, we're coming." She calmly said to Officer Harper despite how much she had paled.

First the murder, then the threatening call and now this. All in a matter of four days? Then again, in the last decade, the police were getting better and more proficient at their job; solving cases rather quickly more often being a huge part of that.

Rachel and Kori followed Officer Harper to the car, silently hoping that whatever was happening . . . it would go normally. But something told the women that this was going to be a long night.

* * *

**Yup, that's it for now. Chapter 5 should be up soon. R&R!**

**~MDT**


	5. Interrogations

_**Saturday, October 27, 2025 8:24 pm**_

Rachel walked into a bright room with about five or six chairs lined along the gray walls. There was nothing else except for a coffee machine in a corner and a door which would lead to the interrogation room.

"You two wait here until Officer Grayson calls you in for questioning, okay?" Officer Harper said.

"Yes." Kori answered timidly. Her hand was gripping Rachel's shoulder tightly, as she stood as far away from Officer Harper as she could. After he walked into the interrogation room and closed the door lightly, Rachel looked over and noticed two men who were also apparently waiting to be interrogated.

They looked up. One was a short, fair man with blonde hair and emerald green eyes. He looked like he was in his mid twenties and was wearing a casual purple shirt with black pants. The other man was taller and burlier. His complexion was darker while his eyes were grey. He wore a gray sweatshirt with black sweatpants.

The shorter man smiled and stood up. "You're here for being interrogated?" he asked in a slightly hoarse voice.

Kori stepped forward and nodded, slightly relaxed now. "Yes; for John Parks' case. And you . . .?"

"Same." He extended his hand out to her. "I'm Garfield Logan. I was Mr. Parks' friend."

"Kori Anders. I . . . was interviewed by him once. And I was also a friend of his." she shook it, smiling. "I have heard about you, I believe. Mr. Parks had told me a lot about you."

"Hopefully he said good things." Garfield laughed.

The taller man came forward. "I'm Victor Stone. I was going to be interviewed by him."

"Very nice to meet you, Victor." Kori said with a smile. It was good that she could relax herself with a bit of socializing before the interrogation.

Garfield looked over Kori's shoulder and noticed Rachel. "And you, Miss?" he addressed her.

"It's Rachel Roth, thank you." Rachel said evenly, but she didn't snap at him despite her irritation at being addressed as 'Miss'.

"Oh, right." Garfield scratched the back of his neck sheepishly, looking at the floor for a brief moment. Then, he looked back into her violet eyes and smiled cheekily. "Nice to meet you, Rachel Roth."

"Nice to meet you, too." Rachel felt like rolling her eyes at that, but chose not to.

"So . . . how did you know Mr. Parks?"

"I worked for him; I was his editor."

"You work for the _**Jump City Gazette**_? That's awesome! I work at a clinic in Downtown Jump City; I'm a veterinarian there."

"Interesting," Rachel said with a small smile. Then, she looked over at Kori who was talking to Victor.

"And you, Mr. Stone? What is your profession?" Kori asked.

"I'm a Business Systems Analyst in Green Cross Insurance."

"Wait, Mr. Parks told me about you. You mentioned that he was going to interview you."

Victor nodded.

"You are the one who used to be a scientist, correct?"

His face straightened for a moment, but then he nodded. "Yeah, I was. But an accident happened in the lab and I had to get prosthetic limbs." He pulled down his sleeve to reveal a silver arm. "I'm guessin' Mr. Parks told you about this?"

Kori smiled sympathetically. "Yes, he did. You are okay now, yes?"

"Yeah, it's been good. I'm thinking of starting a car business and I'm planning that out while earning money with my job now."

"That is good. Life must always move on."

"So you're a fashion designer? My girlfriend's a big fan of your designs. I wonder how she'll react when she finds out I met you today."

"Wonderful!" Kori exclaimed. "You will have to introduce me to her sometime."

They were interrupted by the sound of a door opening. A young man wearing a red shirt and black business suit stepped into the waiting room. His jet black hair was spiked and hanging over his tanned face slightly. His eyes weren't visible because of his sunglasses. "Good afternoon," he said tonelessly. "I'm Richard Grayson and I'm in charge of Parks' case. I'll be questioning all of you one by one today."

Rachel bit her lip. So it was time.

Richard eyed the people he was going to be questioning today. Each of them looked like pretty decent fellows from an outsider point of view, despite how nervous they seemed right now. Not that it was surprising; it wasn't. The prospect of being questioned in a police station wasn't really something to celebrate.

Garfield Logan looked exactly like he did in Mrs. Parks' picture; he was about Richard's height, but slightly shorter and his blonde hair looked thicker and more grown out than in the picture. He had emerald green eyes which shone slightly with nervousness as he eyed the Officer while scratching the back of his neck.

Rachel Roth was taller than Dr. Logan and closer to Richard's height. She was dressed in a royal blue trench coat and was wearing a plain black shirt with black jeans. She had straight black hair which cut abruptly at her slender shoulders, and expressionless violet eyes on her pale face

Kori Anders stood out the most to Richard; she was much taller than Miss Roth and was wearing a purple tank top with a matching skirt and pair of boots. Her peachy, oval-shaped face mostly showed off her bright green eyes which looked troubled and worried. Miss Anders was biting her lips while fidgeting with her straight fiery red hair that framed her face with slick bangs and ran down to her waist.

Victor Stone was the tallest of the four people and a burly man with grey eyes. His mouth was set in a straight line as he stared right back at him. Richard walked up to him. "Victor Stone?" he asked.

Mr. Stone nodded.

"You're first." He turned to the others. "The rest of you relax and wait here until I call you in." Then, he beckoned for Victor to follow him to the room.

"Easy for you to say," he heard Dr. Logan mutter softly.

Richard turned around. "What was that?"

"Nothing!" Dr. Logan's voice squeaked as he jumped slightly. "Nothing, really." He stood still for a moment with tense shoulders.

Without a response, Richard simply walked through the door to the interrogation room, Victor following behind him.

Once they were gone, Garfield sighed in relief. "That was close."

"Smooth," Rachel muttered wryly.

* * *

The room was well lit but vacant except for a metal table and two metal chairs. Victor sat down on a small metal chair and Richard sat across from him, folding his arms over a plain metal desk.

"All right," Richard said to Victor. "Now you have a right to be silent. But any information you give can be used for or against you." He paused for a moment. "So can you tell a bit about yourself?" When questioning suspects, it was always a good idea to get an insight on their background so that anything . . . questionable about them could be detected ahead of time. And if they were lying, he would know; their bio-data would have everything down in black and white.

"Okay," Victor began. "Well, I used to be a Biochemist before. I was working for STAR labs back in Metropolis. But there was a major lab accident with some of the equipment and I ended up having to get prosthetic limbs. Just like I loved science, I also had a fascination for mechanics and engineering. I had degrees in both fields so after I moved here, I decided to start a car business. I'm still planning it out while working as a Computer Programmer in Green Cross Insurance. Not really my dream job, but it brings in some money to support myself."

Richard had checked Victor's records before, and this answer matched exactly what it said. So nothing was really questionable there so far. "So, it looks like you never stop working." He said.

Victor smiled. "Uh, thanks." _And according to Bee, neither do you._ He thought.

Richard checked his file. "I see that on October 30, you were going to be interviewed by Mr. Parks. Is that correct?" He looked up.

"Yeah; he wanted to post an editorial telling my story."

"Okay, did you two ever meet each other face-to-face in the time you knew him?"

"Not really; it would've been during our interview. But obviously, that didn't really work out."

"So your conversations were only on the phone, right?"

"Yeah; they weren't that frequent though. We only really talked in the two weeks when we knew each other."

"And how often did you talk?"

"Probably about three or four days. He'd been trying to schedule a date for the interview and it kept getting cancelled because of his work. He was a pretty busy guy."

"In the week of October 29, the night when he was murdered, did you ever find anything suspicious in his behavior? Like, did he seem troubled or tensed over something?"

"No; Then again, I don't know if I'm the proper judge for that since our conversations weren't really that frequent."

"I see."

* * *

Garfield hated waiting. It had been almost forty-five minutes and the interrogation wasn't over yet. How much questions did Grayson have? Victor was just a one-time acquaintance of John for an interview! If this was how long it took for someone like that, then what about himself? John's close friend. Aw, dude.

Music slightly audible from Kori's headphones was the only sound present in the room.

He sighed, his elbows slumping more over his knees, and then looked to his left. Rachel was sitting comfortably with her legs crossed, left over right, reading a book with a brown leather cover. Her left foot was shaking restlessly which was probably the only sign of nervousness she actually showed at the moment.

Garfield had his mini handheld Gamestation that he could play, but too many things were on his mind to even consider it. So, the only alternative was conversation; he took a deep breath and smiled at Rachel. "So, you read a lot?" he asked, deciding to pull her into the conversation. _Dude,_ he thought. _That was a lame start_.

She looked up after a moment and said, "Yes." She looked back into her book thinking to herself, _Gee, that wasn't random at all_.

"What else do you like to do?"

"I write." She didn't look up from her book.

"Cool; have you published anything yet?"

"Not yet." She still didn't look up from her book.

Garfield tried not to sigh. _Come on, you can say more than that! _"So what kinds of books do you read?"

This time, she looked up. "Why are you so curious?" she asked, annoyed.

"Because I am. Anyway, I've read comics in any free time and medical journals too. I also play video games."

"And that helps you on your job . . . how?"

"Not really, it just gives me a chance to loosen up a bit since I'm always at work till 8:30 on weekdays. I'm on call today and tomorrow."

"Interesting." She went back to reading her book silently hoping that he wouldn't continue talking to her.

"How long do you think this is gonna take to get us all through?"

Rachel set her book down on her lap forcefully and glared at him. "I don't know, I didn't exactly plan this okay?"

Garfield held his hands up. "Okay, okay I was just asking."

Finally, the door opened and Victor walked back into the waiting room, sitting next to Garfield. "Everything okay, dude?" Garfield whispered to him.

Victor nodded quickly. "Yeah, but he takes his own sweet time in asking questions. It's crazy, man." Garfield held back a snicker.

Officer Grayson cleared his throat, snapping them back to reality. He peered into a folder before looking up and called for the next person. "Miss Kori Anders, you're next."

Kori stood up slowly, swallowing. "Very well." She said. At the moment, she wasn't sure how she sounded because of the millions of thoughts buzzing through her mind. She hadn't committed this crime at all; so why was she so nervous? _Relax,_ she finally reminded herself. _You are innocent. That is all that counts. No one will arrest you for this._

She walked into a room which had a metal table and two metal chairs. She sat down on one and Officer Grayson sat across from her, folding his arms over a plain metal desk. When Kori looked up at him, he seemed to be staring intently at her; almost curiously. Unsure of what to make of it, she simply gave him a small smile. She hadn't actually had a face-to-face with police personnel before but she definitely knew that she had to keep her answers 'short and sweet'. That was what the suspects would do in the movies she'd seen before; unfortunately, the policemen or women were still very intimidating nonetheless and that was what was making her nervous at the moment.

But to her surprise, Officer Grayson returned her smile; his lips curving up slightly. . . actually, from his spiked hair, black sunglasses, and slightly tanned face he looked quite mysterious and . . . handsome. Kori tried to shake that thought out of her mind as she felt heat spreading on her cheeks and turned her gaze to her lap.

Richard had been about to start talking, but had stopped when Miss Anders smiled at him. Her large, innocent green eyes peered at him anxiously as she was waiting for him to begin the interrogation. He found himself lost in them, as they seemed to sparkle and he didn't even realize for some time that he was smiling back at her now. They seemed to be locking eyes for almost a minute before her cheeks reddened a bit and she looked down.

At that, Richard snapped back to reality and cleared his throat. "Um, right. So . . . you have a right to be silent. But any information you give can be used for or against you."

Kori couldn't help the next few words that came out of her mouth, even though she knew she sounded ridiculous. "After this interrogation, I will not be arrested, yes?" she asked, timidly.

"No; although I would prefer that everything you tell me is true." For some reason, Richard regretted saying it like that as Miss Anders continued to stare at her lap and cowered before him. So in a lighter tone, he moved on to the first question. "So can you tell a bit about yourself?"

Kori looked back up at him. "My official name is Korina Anders and . . ." her breath was caught in her throat. _Do not pause! He will suspect you! Just continue speaking!_ Her mind was screaming at her. Richard simply nodded, lightly gesturing for her to continue. "I was born in a country called Tamaran, where my parents were Commanders in the Army. After they died in battle, I moved here. I was nineteen then. I started a career here as a fashion designer and I have been working in that profession for the last five years."

Richard checked his file containing her bio-data and then shifted his gaze back to her. "And how did you know John Parks?"

"He interviewed me after I moved into this city."

He narrowed his eyes. "Is that it?"

Miss Anders awkwardly shifted her position on the seat.

Richard realized it might be difficult to put it to her subtly; so it was time to push a little harder. He bent over, reached into a Ziploc bag and pulled out a small black book. "According to this private schedule of his, which his wife never really knew much about, he was meeting you three times a week for two months."

Her eyes widened and she looked up slightly, her worst fear confirmed. Could he possibly know about . . . _oh dear oh dear he probably suspects me now!_

He cocked his head to the side. "It appears to me that you two were very close, don't you agree?" he asked casually. Almost there . . .

She clenched her fists. _He does know! _Kori's mind was divided in two for the moment. Her logical part was telling her to simply answer the question instead of behaving like an infant. But the other part of her mind was still frozen in fear. _Must I tell him of my sin? _

"Were you just greeting each other as friends or was something else going on that Mrs. Parks, or anyone else, didn't know?"


	6. A Perfect Relationship

_**Saturday, October 27, 2025 9:35 pm**_

"Were you just greeting each other as friends or was something else going on that Mrs. Parks, or anyone else, didn't know?"

Miss Anders finally reacted, but not in the way he expected. She put a hand over her mouth and shut her eyes tightly as tears began to pour down her face. Her soft sobs were muffled by her hand. Richard's eyes widened and his guilt at intimidating her at the beginning of the interrogation rose to a new level._ Brilliant Rich,_ he mocked himself silently._ Way to make her cry._

He walked over to where she was sitting and placed a hand on her shoulder. She flinched at the touch and said, "It is true, I did have an affair with Mr. Parks. But it was all a lie. I did not know that he was married!" Her voice came out in a sad whisper. "I would have never committed such an atrocious deed if I had known!" She turned to look up at him eyes swimming with tears. "I understand that you may suspect me now because he betrayed me as well as Mrs. Parks but that is not true! Please do not arrest me! I did not murder him! I could never do that! I would never murder anyone!"

"Miss Anders, calm down, I'm not accusing you of anything; see, I'm only trying to find out how all this happened and for that I have to question whoever was involved with Mr. Parks so that I can put the pieces together. That's part of my job. But that doesn't mean I'll just accuse someone right away. I'd have to have really good evidence to take that kind of step."

"Oh," She said meekly, wiping her eyes. "I apologize for my hysterics. It is just that I have heard that jail is a terrible place and I do not wish to go there especially for something I did not do!"

Richard smiled at her, understandingly. "I'm sure no one else would _want_ to, either. So don't worry. We're not suspecting you of anything, we're just gathering information." He was surprised at how friendly he was acting all of a sudden. Normally, he could not be so friendly to those he was questioning lest they take advantage of that and tell lies. Maybe Miss Anders' innocent questions and obvious fear had changed his strategy this particular time. Heh. If only criminals were this easy . . .

"Now can you tell me everything you know about John Parks?"

Kori finished brushing her tears away and nodded quickly. She had hoped she wouldn't break down so easily and end up arousing suspicion, as she had heard of such happenings when her father or mother would encounter suspects in their line of work. But this man seemed quite courteous and understanding. Perhaps all policemen weren't _so_ demanding and frightening after all. Taking a deep breath, she began to talk about her previous 'relationship.'

"In general, he was a very polite and charming man to talk to. After the interview, we became friends; we would talk to each other very often on the phone. There were times when I would call and he would never answer, but he would tell me that it was because he was very busy and then go on to talk about the latest editorial he was doing. It was rather coincidental that Rachel knew him too."

"Rachel?" Did she mean Rachel Roth?

"Yes, she is sitting outside waiting for her interrogation. She works for Mr. Parks as an editor and publisher. Anyway, one day, Mr. Parks asked me to go a date with him. We would meet thrice a week. He was similar to my dreams when I was a young girl. A prince charming." She couldn't help giggling at the mention of her romance fantasies. "He had a bouquet of flowers for me on each of our dates and he would always compliment on my appearance. We never had any fights or other kinds of problems. It was like the perfect relationship."

"Did you tell anyone about this relationship?" Richard asked, even though he already knew the answer.

"No; I wanted to share this exciting news with my friends but Mr. Parks told me that it could complicate matters for us. He said that he was worried about publicity and rumors since I was an upcoming figure in the city as well as he. It made sense to me at the time so I trusted him." Then, she frowned.

"But one day, I was going out to meet him; that was when Rachel was coming over to my house. She asked me where I was going and I finally told her I was going on a date with Mr. Parks. I knew it would not be what he wanted but I did not want to hide this from my best friend." She sniffed, looking down. "Rachel was absolutely horrified and told me he was married. To convince me so, she showed me a picture of her, him and his wife that was taken at an office party. I noticed his wedding ring then."

"Did you ever notice it during your dates?"

"No; he never wore one so I did not suspect him"

"And Rachel never knew about your previous dates before?"

"No; I had never told her before. The question never even came into mind because she knew that I knew him, but she thought that we were just friends. And she did not know that we were meeting each other. She is not at fault at all for this. Actually, if it was not for her, I would have never learned of his infidelity."

"So you left him?"

"Yes, I did." And she began to pour her heart out about a rather unforgettable night.

* * *

_**Monday, October 21, 2025 7:40 pm**_

_She felt like she'd been stabbed with a dagger ten times. Tears nearly blurred her vision as she drove her car with shaking hands. When she stopped at a red signal, she wiped them away furiously. But every time she did this, more tears kept coming. She didn't know how she could describe the way she felt at the moment since her heart was bombarded with multiple emotions. Angry? Devastated? Confused? Guilty? Humiliated? Confused?_

_Yes, CONFUSED. How this was possible. How she had been unaware the whole time of everything Rachel had told her not too long ago. How she had not suspected much. How, how, HOW? _

_She still remembered the shock on Rachel's face when she'd informed her of her plans this evening._

"You're dating John?" She had gasped, as though she never expected anything like this from Kori. But the next few words seemed to stop time and movement in general.

"Kori, he's married! He's a married man! Why?"

_More tears. Kori scrubbed her eyes and blinked forcefully as she started driving again. No Nooo. She was not going to cry like this. She was the daughter of warriors for the crying out loudly! Rachel would always say that crying for every single thing was a sign of weakness. But however justified Kori believed she was to cry now, she did not want to. She did not deserve to. Not when his wife, Mrs. Parks, was worse off than her, completely oblivious to this evil sin John had committed against her._

_At last, she reached her destination. Moonlight Palace. The venue of all their dates. The illicit dates from this illicit relationship. John, sitting up on the top floor at a table, stood up as he noticed her car and waved from the window. There was a smile on his face as he waited at the Private booth. Wait, private._

_Suddenly, it hit her all at once. He would always pick that booth for their dates. A Private Booth. A room separated and more secluded from the other tables where other couples from the city would come and eat. John didn't want anyone to know about this. No wonder he had never even held her hand or said sweet things to her anywhere outside that room! He hadn't wanted anyone to see that and inform his wife! That was why they had been dating for two months and had never even kissed. So that it would all be his secret. _

_Oh, poor poor Mrs. Parks._

_Now the confusion was all gone. Now was the time she felt . . . humiliated for believing in his 'constant need for privacy' and guilty for allowing him to do this to his wife, even though she didn't know about this before. It was still wrong. Was she really this terrible of a person? She walked off the parking lot without responding to this unfaithful husband and allowed the Maitre'd to lead her to the Private Booth. _

"_Would you two like anything to drink?" He asked, once they were there. _

"_No thank you," she said, never taking her eyes off of the man in front of her. _

_Once the Maitre'd left, John walked over to her with a broad smile on his face. "Hey, Sweet cheeks, you're a little late. Everything okay?"He hugged her lightly, whispering into her ear, "I'm glad you came." _

_Kori said nothing and obviously didn't return the embrace. Normally, she would have blushed. But now, she wanted to scoff at how unjust it sounded to her. "No," her broken voice simply said._

_John immediately let go, puzzled, and then noticed her tear-streaked face. "Kori, what happened? Why're you crying, Love?"_

_She was asking herself that question now. This must have been how Rachel had felt when her former boyfriend had betrayed her like this too. The only difference was that she had loved him for real. But why was _Kori_ crying? They had only been dating for two months. She knew she didn't love him at this point; it was simply a smooth dating relationship. Like a 'crush'. Getting to know each other better and better and better. So why was she so crushed then? _

_Because this was all wrong. He was supposed to be saying these nice things to his wife! Not her! What an awful man. And he had even gotten Kori involved and used her in this infidelity; almost like a Mistress. Ugh. Evil, evil evil._

"_Do not call me 'Love'." She said, trying not to snap at him while trying not to sound too devastated. Futile. She ended up doing both. "You are a bad man. This was all an evil game."_

_John's eyes widened in confusion. "Sweet cheeks, what're you talking about?"_

_She lost her resolve quickly. "I am _not _your sweet cheeks!" She shouted. These pet names were supposed to be for Mrs. Parks! Not her!_

"_Kori, quiet down! Just stay calm." John held her shoulders firmly, looking a bit scared as to why she was suddenly shouting like this; unlike her cheerful self._

"_Why must I quiet down? So that your _wife_ will not find out?"_

_John's grip on her shoulders slackened; his mouth opened and closed. "Kori, I-" he stammered. "I don't know what-"_

"_Do not try to deny it! I know everything now! I saw you with her wearing a wedding ring in that photo of the party at your office! And now I refuse to be your mistress!"_

_John was shocked. "Mistress- what? Kori you don't understand. That wasn't a wedding ring! You're getting it all wrong!"_

"_I am new to this country but not that naïve. I know that wedding rings are worn on the ring finger of the left hand. I even received verbal confirmation of this!"_

_His face reddened with desperation. "Look, the asshole who told you this is trying to fool you. Please don't believe them."_

"_RACHEL IS NOT THE HOLE IN THE BEHIND OF A DONKEY!" Kori screamed, without thinking. How dare he insult Rachel? Curious faces were beginning to peek through the small window at the door. The satin curtains restricted their view. But Kori and John didn't seem to care._

_Comprehension dawned on John's face and it contorted with rage. His hands clenched tightly into fists and Kori winced slightly at the pain in her shoulders. "Rachel . . . what- how-" he said her name like it was a curse. "That bitch! Kori, don't listen to her. She's screwing you over! I really do care for you. You're my one and only."_

"_DO NOT CALL MY BEST FRIEND A FEMALE DOG! SHE IS A HUMAN WITH A HEART, UNLIKE YOU WITH WHOM I AM FINISHED WITH FOR GOOD, LIAR!" Kori suddenly realized that she had unknowingly revealed Rachel to be the reason for this. Her eyes widened as she realized how much Rachel's job could be in jeopardy now. Oh no oh no! Another sin she had committed!_

_John released her at last, his eyes looked like they were bulging in fury. His fists were clenching and unclenching; very unlike him. "Fine," he spat bitterly. "Have it your own way. But you're making a big mistake. You're gonna regret this."And he strode out of the booth, leaving Kori to her own guilt and sadness._

* * *

_**Saturday, October 27, 2025 9:47 pm**_

Richard raised an eyebrow at the last comment. "And you think that what he said at the end was a threat?"

"Perhaps. I just had a feeling it wasn't directed at _me_; but when I found out about his death, I had all kinds of bad guesses as to what may have happened. But when I managed to call Rachel on the phone, she was just as shaken by the news as I was and did not seem to know anything of what had happened."

"And you broke up with Mr. Parks, when?"

"October 21st."

Richard pondered aloud. "Three days before he was killed. And he was getting angry with you and then Rachel . . . do you think Rachel knows anything about his death?"

Her eyes widened. "Oh, Mr. Grayson! It is not what you think it is! Rachel could not have killed him. She could never kill anyone. Besides, she never leaves her house at anytime past 7:30 pm and Mr. Parks was found dead instantly at 10:00 pm according to the officials who told this on the news! Rachel is not 'a wimp' but she is terrified of being outside late at night."

"Wait, I'm not accusing her. I just meant to ask if you think she could know something about what happened."

"Well . . ." Kori hesitated. She remembered Rachel coming to her house after receiving that threatening call. Should she inform Mr. Grayson? She wanted to, because of how shaken Rachel had looked. She had been so _terrified_. But then again, Rachel had asked her not to tell anyone. And if she went back on her word, Rachel would never forgive her. Perhaps she would talk about it herself when she was being questioned.

"Miss Anders?" Richard interrupted her train of thinking. "Is everything all right?"

"Yes," she said. "I actually do not know about that but surely I could tell you later if I find out?"

"Well, okay. For the next few days keep an eye on Rachel and carefully try to see if you can get anything out of her. In a professional point of view, we'd ask another officer to do so but I have a feeling that she would respond to a close friend better."

Kori laughed, heartily. "That is indeed a mission impossible but I shall try my best. Perhaps you can gather more information on your own but it shall be very difficult. Rachel does not like to disclose her personal matters and trusts little to no people."

"I'll keep that in mind. In that case, I think we're done for today. Thank you for your time." He picked up a card from his desk and wrote his cell phone number on it before handing it to her. "Here's my number and call me if you find anything suspicious okay or if you need help, okay?"

"Of course."

Richard couldn't help asking, "Do you think you'll be okay? After your . . . well . . ."

"I will be, soon mostly since I did not _love_ him. Most of my anger was directed at what he had done to his wife and that I never knew that truth. Thank you. And by the way?"

"Yes?" he asked, just realizing he'd been smiling from the time he'd given her his number.

"You look very cute when you smile." She was grinning shyly at him.

Richard hadn't been expecting that compliment, just like he didn't expect his cheeks to redden as he stuttered, "Um, right. Thanks."

Garfield woke up with a start as Kori walked in with Officer Grayson. Her eyes were red and slightly puffy, but she still looked relatively content. He noticed Rachel raising an eyebrow as she squinted at Officer Grayson suspiciously. "What happened?" she asked her friend who sat down next to her.

"Oh nothing, Rachel." Kori shrugged. "I was just very nervous, that is all."

Rachel glared at the Criminal Investigator while questioning Kori, "He didn't hurt you?"

Garfield held his breath, waiting for a reaction but Officer Grayson didn't seem to care about that. While suppressing a smile, he couldn't help feeling amazed at her frankness. She wasn't the least intimidated by Grayson's presence and that was some bravery, considering his serious reputation.

"No Rachel," Kori placed a hand gently on Rachel's arm. "Do not worry."

* * *

_**Saturday, October 27, 2025 10:11 pm**_

Garfield sat down in a metal chair, trying his best not to look nervous; he already knew he'd failed that earlier. Grayson had called him in so suddenly that he'd abruptly stood up, forgetting that his mini Gamestation was in his lap. Despite not saying anything, Rachel's glare had been enough to make him stammer an apology before picking his game up from where it had landed on her foot.

He took a few deep breaths as his right to be silent and liability for his statements was made clear to him blah blah blah. "So, tell me a little about yourself. Where you're from and what you do."

Garfield hadn't been expecting that question, but managed to answer. "I was born in Africa, where my parents were biologists. They died when I was eight, so I was taken here to live with foster parents who adopted me. I'm a vet and I work at the local clinic near Ryder County.

Officer Grayson glanced into a folder and then looked back at him. "Okay," he started on the next question. "How did you know John Parks?"

_Okay . . .?_ he thought. _What exactly was the point to that first question then? Oh well. _"We knew each other in High School.

"In what way?"

"We were friends."

"Are you still good friends?"

"Yeah. We talked from time to time but we weren't that close."

"Really?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Because I heard that you two were good friends and constantly kept in touch with each other."

"Oh. I'm not really sure who told you that, but we're really not that close even though we do keep in touch."

"I see." Richard figured keeping in touch with Garfield may have been an alibi for Parks to talk frequently with Kori. _On to the main issue now. _"Now, I've asked the bank about you and apparently, your credit card history is pretty clean," He was sitting in his own chair now and staring directly at Garfield, who narrowed his eyes, confused. "but you're almost $500,000 in debt."

_What the hell? _The vet's eyebrows twitched uneasily as he wondered where Grayson was going with this.

"But from what the Senior Resident says about you, you seem to be very good at what you do. And you even earned a raise for that."

"Excuse me, how is this relevant to the case?" Garfield demanded.

"Just trying to find out if there's anything . . . that I need to know."

Was he being suspected? "Okay, I'm a little bit in debt! So what?"

"If you're so good at what you do, then why are you so deeply in debt?" Richard actually leaned over the table, to get as perfect a view as possible of Dr. Logan's face; trying to read him correctly.

Garfield wasn't sure how to answer that. There was a good reason for this sudden plunge in debt, but it wasn't even relevant to this case!

"Why did you suddenly borrow so much money?"

Was it necessary to share? He did have the right to be silent, though. Hmmm . . .

Officer Grayson's hard gaze never moved from where they burned into Garfield's eyes. He stared back, knowing that if he tried to avoid his gaze, he could be suspected of lying about something.

He continued pressing on. "Was it because you just 'felt like it' one night? Like gambling with a couple of buddies? You wanted to spend it on something . . . that may have been illegal?"

Something in Garfield snapped. He stood up so abruptly that his chair tipped over with a loud, metallic _thud!_ "Just shut up!" he shouted, not caring if the others in the waiting room would hear him. "You don't know anything about me!"

Richard had experienced such defensive reactions from people he'd questioned in the past, so he was unperturbed by the vet's outburst. _Good, I've finally hit a nerve. Just gotta keep at this._ "Then what's the problem?" he asked, "You can easily not tell me but that won't stop me from getting suspicious of this."

"I was forced to!" Garfield's eyes widened as he realized his admission too late.

Bingo. "What do you mean?"

Garfield let out a resigned sigh, picked up his chair and sat back down. "It's because of my ex-girlfriend, Tara Markov . . . I was just starting off as a resident last year. She said she needed financial help; money for her friend's surgery. She asked me for help for about five or six of these. I loved her so much then that without a second thought, I borrowed money from the bank and gave it to her since I didn't have enough in my own account. I'd been spending it all on my college education. But later, I found out that the whole thing about her friend needing surgery was a bunch of bologna. She'd actually asked me for money so that she could give it to a mobster for protection money."

At the mention of the word 'mobster', Richard raised an eyebrow. "Mobster? Who?"

Garfield took a deep breath. "Slade."


	7. Threats and Thoughts

Richard didn't know if he was surprised, thrilled or shocked upon hearing his arch nemesis' name. Millions of thoughts and questions hit him at once as he registered this. "Slade? How did you know about him before? Why didn't you take him up with the police?"

"It's a long story. I first encountered him last year."

_**Saturday, February 14, 2024 11:04 pm**_

_Garfield's car tires screeched as he made a sharp turn to the right. Had the turn been any sharper, his car could have even overturned. "Damn," he muttered angrily as he considered that. Although at the moment, he could hardly blame himself. Today's Valentine's Day had started like any other exciting holiday, but hadn't ended like one. If it he hadn't had a date with his girlfriend today, it probably would have. And he wouldn't be driving home at 11pm cursing like a bitter old man. _

"_Of all the ways I could've spent today evening, I just _had_ to spend it for my girlfriend. Yeah, my girlfriend, Little Miss I'll-Accuse-My-Boyfriend-When-He-Didn't-Even-Do-Anything-Wrong-And-Not-Even-Let-Him-Explain. She just walked away from me and . . ." he sighed sadly, his moment of fury finally cooling down. "She didn't even say goodbye." Garfield felt awkward about the fact that he was talking to himself right now, but at the moment, none of that mattered much. Oh well. He would call her tomorrow and patch things up. Hopefully, she would cool down soon though because Tara always had a bit of a temper. _

_BANG! A black figure landed heavily on his car's hood, blocking the front window and obstructing his view of the road. Garfield's eyes widened and he slammed his foot on the brakes, while trying to pull over to the side safely. The figure did not fall off of the hood as the car spun rapidly until finally colliding with the edge of a sidewalk. _

_For a moment, there was a dead silence as Garfield tried to steady his heavy breathing and continued to stare ahead at the hood. Because it was nighttime, the area was dark and he could not tell who or what the figure was. 'Please don't be dead, please don't be dead.' He pleaded silently to it. As if in response, it immediately rolled off of the hood and stood straight. It looked like a man who wore a black bodysuit with matching shoes, gloves and a mask. Through the black mask, one grey eye was visible._

_Garfield's sigh of relief at the man being alive and fit was caught in his throat as the man pulled out a pistol from his belt; and pointed it in Garfield's direction. Then from the corner of his eye, he noticed six other men dressed similarly to this one surrounding his car. They also had pistols. All of them were pointed at him._

_Oh, damn. _

_One of them stepped forward and knocked on his window. When he opened it, the man leaned in and snarled at him, "Open the doors of this car. Now. Don't try any funny business either. These pistols are loaded." By now, Garfield was incapable of responding in any way. He could only nod and press a button next to his petrol meter, unlocking all the doors of the car. He nodded to the men again. One by one, every door opened and all of them crammed themselves into the back of his car. The man who'd jumped onto the hood sat in the passenger's seat next to Garfield. _

"_All right, kid." The man said. "There's something I wanna discuss with you but we'll need a better place to go through with it. I'll show you the way and you have to go _exactly_ where I tell you to go . . . or else . . ." Garfield felt the cold metal of the man's pistol press against his neck and shivered. He gulped and nodded while wondering what the hell was going on as he started up his car again. _

"_Here we are kid. Stop right here." The man rasped. Once he and his accomplices were out of the car, one of them came to the driver's window and beckoned at Garfield. "Get out of the car." _

_Once he was out and a few feet away from his car, the six men moved closer and stood around him in a circle never lowering their raised guns once. With some streetlights along the road, Garfield was able to make out the man and the surroundings a little better. He was in what looked like a parking lot. _

_It was simply a blanket of black cement with faded out parking lines on it. There was not a single vehicle of any kind parked there, neither were there any residences nearby. Great. And as for the man . . . wait! He'd seen him before. On the newspaper! Garfield almost gasped as he realized that this was the known and feared mobster, Slade, who the police was still trying to capture. _

_Uh-oh. _

"_Since you're working at the hospital, I understand that you don't have all night. So I'll make this quick." Slade said in a smooth voice. _

_Garfield's mouth hung open. "What? How do you know-"_

"_I have my sources." The mobster answered blankly. "Now, as you know, we've been on the run from the police for a long time and they're obviously not going to give up until we're caught. So basically to avoid that, we're all in need of a little . . . protection."_

_Garfield didn't like where this was going. "Why are you asking me?" _

"_Your job's got lots of cash flowing into your pockets. So my request is simple: Share some of it with me. After all, sharing means caring. Isn't that what those kindergarten teachers always say?"_

_Garfield frowned. So Slade wanted his money? Why him? He was just a resident Veterinarian! Wait . . . he had rich step-parents. How these mobsters found out these things was always a scary thing to think about. They knew his job and his connections; and _he_ didn't even know how they looked like beyond those black suits! _

"_So do we have a deal?" Slade's question cut into his thoughts. _

_Although he was no match for these armed mobsters, Garfield did not want to give in to this type of blackmail. Besides, his step-parents would never pay anyway; and he was still paying off his student loan with his current salary. These guys didn't seem to know that part of a medical student's financial status. 'These idiots think I'm filthy rich? No wonder they're just a bunch of lowlifes!' Refusing to show his slightly growing nervousness, he glared at Slade. _

"_No way."_

_Needless to say, Slade definitely didn't seem too pleased by that because in the next second, Garfield felt the man's fist collide roughly with his face. He staggered back, was caught, before he fell, by the collar of his green polo shirt and yanked back up to his feet. He found himself face to face with one grey eye that flashed threateningly. "Is this how you were taught to respect your superiors in medical school?" Slade growled. "I'll ask you one more time. Do. We. Have. A. Deal?"_

'_SOMEONE won't take 'No' for an answer.' Garfield felt like snickering. He ignored the stinging on the right side of his forehead and looked back at Slade defiantly. "No."_

"_Fine. But don't say I didn't warn you."_

_Garfield found out what he meant by that in a split second as a man from behind shoved him. He landed on the damp ground with a thud and barely managed to break the fall with his hands. He didn't have enough time to recuperate though, because all of a sudden, fists and feet were lashing at him from all sides. He crossed his arms over his face to protect it, but that didn't help as a fist roughly crashed against his nose. This continued for a few more minutes until the blows suddenly ceased. _

_Thinking that they were done, he started to get up; using his hands to push himself off of the ground. Garfield hoped to make a quick run for his car but his attempts to breathe slowed him down. A foot slammed into his stomach and he fell back down, groaning. A hand, which he knew to be Slade's, suddenly gripped his left arm, yanked it behind his back and roughly twisted it until a loud CCCRRRRRAAAAAACCCCCCKKKKK resonated from it. _

_Garfield screamed in agony, arching his back as blazing flames of pain shot up his arm to his shoulder. _

_Slade kicked him so he was lying on his back and chuckled briefly. "Pathetic," he murmured. "Now, one more thing before we're done here; keep this between us only. Or else, I'll give you more than just a broken arm. Hopefully, that'll give you some time to think this over again." He paused for a moment. _

_Garfield could only moan in response. _

"_Your little girlfriend works at Jerry's Market, doesn't she?"_

_Even in his pain, Garfield's eyes snapped open to look up at Slade, shocked. He knew that too? What the hell?_

"_I can hurt her too, and make you watch," Slade continued. "After all, there is nothing that I can't do. Understand?"_

"_Stay . . . stay away . . . from her." Garfield managed to grunt. _

"_That will depend on you." Then, Slade's fist descended on his face and threw him into a sea of black._

* * *

_**Saturday, October 27, 2025 10:26 pm**_

"What happened after that?" Richard asked.

"I was badly hurt. My arm was broken. I called my friend, Victor- he's sitting outside right now- who drove me to the hospital. I was afraid for Tara's life and my own life so I kept quiet about the whole thing and just said that I'd been mugged and knocked out." Garfield sighed morosely, his eyes becoming dazed. "But later that month, I encountered Slade again while I was on a date with Tara and that's when I found out about her betrayal.

"Has Slade been blackmailing you in the last few weeks?"

"No, at least not anymore; I've moved to a new house and I changed my phone number. Cause' he got my contact information from Tara. I had to change my email address too. He doesn't know where I am now, and I don't really want to change that. If the doctors at the clinic find out about this and think I'm involved with him, I could lose my job.

So his friends were at risk from Slade? Hmmm, John Parks was also a friend of Dr. Logan's. "Did he, by any chance, say anything about John Parks? You mentioned he was blackmailing you with the use of your ex-girlfriend."

The vet shook his head.

Richard nodded, still glad that he was finally going to get somewhere with Slade's case. "All right, but it's good that I know about this now because I'm investigating his case. I've been trying to catch him and as long as you cooperate with me, I think I can help you out. Does that sound fair?"

"Yeah, I guess," he suddenly seemed to realize something. "But do me a favor; don't take this information anywhere outside of this case. I don't want Slade knowing that I've told you about him. That could put my other friends and family in danger."

"No problem."

* * *

_**Saturday, October 27, 2025 11:34 pm**_

Rachel was no longer paying attention to the words in her book. Her thoughts had wandered to the obvious fact that she was next for interrogation. She felt she was doing well enough to cover up any nervousness but that didn't block out any thoughts of today's events. The call from that man today still gave her chills, and she hadn't been given enough time to really think this over without anyone knowing. The main question, supposedly, was: Should she tell Grayson about this caller? Although it wouldn't help, could provide a good lead for Parks' case. The call could be traced. But then again, who could guess he hadn't simply used a pay phone?

This was a powerful and smart mobster in question here. He'd been spying on her now a lot lately and probably knew she was at the station. At that thought, a feeling of dread crept over her. Was it even safe to go home today? Was it safe for Kori to go home today? They lived in the same neighborhood. And he knew where she lived, and probably knew about Kori too. He just couldn't actually get into the apartment complex because of the tight security, thank goodness. But considering his notorious reputation . . .

Rachel subtly cast a worried glance at her friend and frowned. Kori had absolutely no clue of all of this, which was the main reason she didn't want to relate the caller's identity to her. This man was dangerous. And Kori knowing about him could easily risk her life. Her career was just starting out and she had so much to look forward to in life; that just wasn't fair at all.

Rachel blinked back tears quickly and looked back to her book. No, no that would never happen. Hiding this now was the best idea. Maybe she would talk about this later when things were a little less predictable for the caller to guess. That way, only she would be the one in any possible danger; not Kori.

The door suddenly opened and Garfield walked in, looking slightly shaken, but less nervous and almost . . . relieved. He sat back down and gave Victor a smile. "Glad that's done with."

Officer Grayson looked to Rachel and opened his mouth to speak but was cut off by Rachel standing up and saying, "I know. I'm next. Let's get this over with." She set her book down calmly and followed him into the interrogation room.

* * *

"So, tell me a bit about yourself."

Rachel was surprised at that question. "This is an interrogation, not a first date." She countered flatly. "Why do you need to know?"

"Just testing how truthful you are. I have a dossier already, but I'm definitely curious about your opinion."

She rolled her eyes, knowing she didn't have to say anything since she'd already been told she had a right to be silent. But then again, if she kept using that to refuse answering anything, she could definitely be suspected and investigated more deeply. "Fine, my name is Rachel Roth. Surprise. I grew up with my mother in a country called Azarath. When I was thirteen, my mother died in a car accident and I was adopted. I moved here not long after that. I started working for John Parks as an editor and publisher."

When she didn't say anything more, Richard pointed to something in his folder containing her information. "According to this profile, you're not employed right now."

She sighed. "I was working for him. I was laid off five days ago."

So she was fired on October 22nd. "So that's the day before he was killed."

Rachel realized where this was going and glared at him. "I know what you're thinking and _no_, I did not kill him. I was laid off for a good reason and I respect that."

"And the reason is?"

"I was not very responsible with my work lately. I wasn't always able to meet the necessary deadlines and I was late for work a lot." She knew he couldn't say anything more to that since that had been the official reason in her resignation form.

Richard raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure that's the real reason? Because I talked to one of your neighbors and apparently they heard . . ."

_'Oh great' _was all Rachel could think as Grayson started talking.


	8. A Nasty Argument

_**Sunday, October 21, 2025 9:00 pm**_

"_Good night Mommy," The child gave his mother a big, toothy smile before closing his eyes and falling into a deep sleep almost immediately._

"_Good night, Jimmy." Cassie smiled and kissed the boy's forehead. Finally now that he was asleep, she could have some quiet time with her and a book. She sighed contentedly, sitting on her bed and picking up one of her favorite magazines-_

"_You fucking ruined everything!"_

_She jumped up. Where did that come from? Cassie eyed Jimmy, making sure he was still asleep. Good, he was. He hadn't heard the F-bomb being dropped._

_Getting up, she walked more forward to where she felt that noise had come from. She could hear more talking, but the tone was calmer and less intelligible because the person was not yelling. Leaning her ear closer to the wall, she could make out the voice of her neighbor, Rachel Roth._

"_Look, my reasons were simply in benefit for her well being; it had nothing to do with you." She seemed to be saying. Was this a boyfriend-girlfriend tiff? Wait, no, Rachel didn't have a boyfriend._

_The yelling voice came again. It was a man, "That's bullshit and you know it."_

"_Listen, I-"_

"_Listen to me you conniving bitch!"Cassie winced. "You're a real smart one, aren't you? You'll show off a very quiet personality and then pick the right time to backstab. I should've known ahead of time. It's always the quiet ones isn't it?"_

"_Mr. Parks, I-" John Parks, Rachel's boss? The __**Jump City Gazette**_ journalist_? How in the world was he suddenly talking like this? He always seemed so professional and level-headed on his interviews. _

"_All because of you! Everything was going so well and you just had to shoot your mouth off and screw everything over. You're really going to regret this." Cassie wondered if she should call the police, considering how much more heated his argument and tone were getting._

_Suddenly she heard something fall and break, followed by a grunt of pain and then a door slamming. After that . . . silence. _

"After that," Richard continued calmly. "out of curiosity she decided to take a small peek outside her door and she noticed John Parks walking away looking very _very_ angry."

Rachel sighed. _Why the hell did he have to shout so much? I just knew someone would hear all that._

"What do you think about all that?"

She shrugged. "We argued. That's it."

Richard frowned. Miss Anders definitely wasn't kidding about this woman's secretiveness. "Are you sure that's all that happened? And Miss Roth, I really need you to cooperate with me on this. I need as much details as possible in order to figure this out."

She sighed, figuring it wouldn't hurt to tell this part. Kori had been interrogated before her and may have already talked about it. "Okay, well, I'm not sure if you know this yet but Mr. Parks had an extramarital affair. He was secretly seeing Kori behind his wife's back. Kori didn't know about his marriage; otherwise, she wouldn't gone with him. When she told me about her relationship, I told her that Parks was married. So she went to their date venue and broke up with him. Needless to say, he wasn't very happy over it and found out that I was the one who told Kori. He came to my apartment and confronted me about it. He was a little drunk then so things got a bit rough as he yelled at me for ruining everything.

I didn't do anything to provoke him, except for trying to explain myself. I didn't even retaliate when he finally slapped me and said I wasn't getting away with this. I found out what he meant by that the next day when I got my resignation notice. He'd managed to state that I was not doing my work properly because of my late arrivals to work I'd been having lately."

"So he fired you?"

"Yes; I started working on my book that I want to publish." Rachel locked her eyes with his. "But don't think that that was any kind of motive. I honestly never developed a desire to kill him. I wanted to file a case against him for using false reasons to fire me but that was all the action I planned to take."

"Fine, although I would suggest casually trying to find out anything from other colleagues if possible. But don't make it look suspicious or anything." Richard said, making a mental note to still keep an eye on her. Hopefully, Miss Anders would definitely be of good help for that.

* * *

_**Sunday, October 28, 2025 12:26 am**_

"Okay, it looks like we're done for today." Richard addressed all of them. "Now remember what'd I've told all of you and don't let any of this get out in public. It's confidential for this case. And if you notice anything suspicious, you have my number, so don't hesitate to notify me." That was all he said before retreating back into the room.

The following silence was awkward for the four people. No one was sure what to say or do for that matter. Rachel and Kori had not been able to arrange for transportation because of the sudden arrival of Officer Harper. And they had arrived here in his car. So the only option to go back was to take a bus.

Rachel tried not to wonder if that caller would try to contact her again when she got home. And it was past midnight. Was it safe to go on a bus at this time? Oh well . . . "Do you have money with you for bus fare?" she asked Kori.

"Yes, I do." She said. "But I regret that we were unable to able to bring my car. This short notice did not allow for such a thing though."

"Dude," Garfield cut in, also laughing. "I have a feeling we'll be seeing a lot of that lately. But hey, Vic brought his car here. If you want we can give you two a ride home."

As appealing as that sounded to Rachel, a part of her reminded that she'd only _just_ met these guys. "You don't have to do that."

But Kori clapped her hands together happily. "Oh you would do that for us?"

"Course' we would." Vic answered, smiling. "It's the least we could do for our new friends."

"Yeah," Garfield added. "And it's least _I_ can do to make up for dropping my Gamestation on Rae's foot. That didn't hurt too much did it?" he wiggled his eyebrows at her.

Rachel rolled her eyes. "No, it didn't. And I would rather you call me Rachel."

"Sure, whatever you want, Rae." He laughed more at that, ignoring her subtle scowl. She'd just earned her first nickname.

"Come, let us go. I am most eager to return to my home!" Kori said. "We shall give you directions to our apartment complex."

"And that's how you make the most juicy delicious, meaty casserole!" Victor finished. It was refreshing to talk about his cooking with someone who was actually willing to listen. A.K.A. Mr. Crazy Vegan Garfield.

"That sounds most delicious," Kori giggled. "Perhaps if we got together for a cookout, it could be the main dish of the evening. I have heard of such gatherings and it seems most fun."

"You mean you've never had an outdoor cookout?" Garfield asked, incredulously.

"No," Kori said. "Most of the parties I have participated in were the formal office parties and they were all indoors with fancy dishes. But as it is a modeling company, the dishes are mainly for those who do much dieting so I do not find the food extremely filling."

"That sucks. I'm sure you'd love the cookouts. You can eat whatever you want, talk however you want and you don't have to worry about etiquette and all that hooha. Trust me, being a vet involves lots of formal stuff; that's the only hand me down I gotta wear on my shoulders." He suddenly cracked up, earning a raised eyebrow from everyone.

"Get it?" Garfield asked. "Hand me down, you know the bad clothes? Wearing?"

Victor rolled his eyes and groaned. "Please man, not another one of your corny jokes."

"Why, dude? Just tryin' to lighten the mood. And it works! People laugh."

"Yeah, but news flash little buddy: it's not the jokes they're laughing at."

Rachel chuckled at this.

Garfield scowled at her. "Right so when I try something, you don't laugh but you act like you've seen the best comedian alive when Vic bashes my sense of humor."

Kori laughed. "Oh friend, we are merely humored by the spirit of your minor argument."

"Right, but yeah the cookout. Great idea! And I'll even let you try some of my awesome tofu hot dogs!"

"You're a vegetarian?" Rachel asked.

"Yeah!"

"Of course! And I shall bring my mint frosting, bread and mustard sandwich. It is most delicious!"

Garfield and Victor glanced at her awkwardly.

"She loves mustard." Rachel stated. "And she puts it in almost everything she eats. She just can't have it during her office parties."

Victor laughed. "That's . . . pretty interesting."

At last, they reached a tall silver gate which read _Meadow Falls_. Two security guards there walked over to the car from where Rachel and Kori stepped out, thanking Garfield and Victor for dropping them off. "Rachel Roth and Korina Anders," Kori said to the guard.

He looked into a book, as though seeing if they were who they were before finally letting them through the gates.

* * *

_**Sunday, October 28, 2025 7:00 pm**_

Rachel squinted at her computer screen, trying to figure out what was going to happen next in this chapter of her book. Writer's Block or no, she had to get to finishing this book since being jobless at the moment was definitely not in her favor. She hadn't had the opportunity to tell Kori yet, but she would soon. An idea popped into her head and she started typing.

_RIIIING! RIIING! RIIING!_

She glanced at her phone and checked the caller's number which was read as . . . _UNKNOWN_.

Rachel sighed deciding against answering; she didn't know this number. So she returned to her typing.

_RIIIING! RIIING! RIIING!_ Four more times.

She kept typing and couldn't help chuckling at this caller's persistence. Probably some dumb prank caller.

"_Hello, no one is available to take your call,"_ the automated voice from the phone sounded each time. _"Please leave your message after the tone."_

_BEEEEEEP._

Now, the fifth missed call, a raspy voice sounded on the answering machine. "Don't try to ignore me, Rachel."

She gasped loudly, whirling around to face the phone. Again . . .?

"I know you're there. Your little interrogation is over now, so we need to talk."

_BEEEEEEP._

Rachel bit her lip. What now? Was he going to follow her all around town until he had her alone to talk? Was he going to- no, stop. She couldn't afford to panic now.

_RIIIING! RIIING! RIIING!_

Caller: UNKNOWN.

"_Hello, no one is available to take your call, please leave your message after the tone."_

_BEEEEEEP._

"You better pick up the phone RIGHT NOW, kid! Don't make me come over there. I mean that literally. Now I'm calling you one more time and if you don't answer, some of my buddies are going to pay you a little visit THEMSELVES and they will make you talk."

What . . .!

"They're only two minutes away and trust me; I'm sure you know them well enough to realize that they'll be there in a heartbeat. So don't even think about calling the cops."

_BEEEEEEP._

They were going to come, no matter what. Even if she answered the next call, he would send them.

_RIIIING! RIIING! RIIING!_

Without wasting a moment, she shut off her computer, snatched her purse, and ran for the front door while dialing Kori's number on her cell phone.

"_Feel the rain on yooour skin. No one else can feel it for you, only you can let it in. No one else, no one else can speak the words on your lips . . ."_

Kori woke up to the sound of Natasha Bedingfield's voice coming from her cell phone. She sat up from her sofa and stretched before picking it up. She had been napping for about an hour before now. "Hello?"

"Kori?" It was Rachel.

Kori scrunched her eyebrows together. "Rachel? What is-"

"Look, I don't have time to talk. Just listen carefully." From the other line, Kori could hear the sound of an engine. "Lock all of your doors and windows and shut your curtains, turn off all your lights and hide somewhere within your apartment. Now!"

She grew concerned at the panic evident in Rachel's voice; and the bizarre nature of this query. "But why, Rachel? What is going on? Why must I-"

"Kori, please!" Rachel was pleading. "Just do it. For your own safety, okay? And speaking of which, whatever you do, don't let ANYONE in your apartment if someone knocks your door! Worst situation, call the police."

"Police? Rachel what-"

The line went dead.

* * *

**Uh-oh. The scary caller is back. Gasp! And where's Rachel going? I'd have to say this was pretty predictable for me. I mean, she just got interrogated! The dude must be curious! Anyway, until next time! **


End file.
